★ 2018 Taipei Film Festival – Winner for Best Documentary, Outstanding Artistic Contribution in Cinematography and Outstanding Artistic Contribution in Editing

“The necessity of tenderness/The necessity of affirmation/The necessity of a drop of wine and sweet-scented osmanthus/The necessity of decently watching a woman walk past…” These are the famous opening lines of Ya Hsien’s beloved poem published in 1964. Two years later, he was invited to the International Writing Program at University of Iowa and shifted to editorial work exclusively afterwards, stopping publishing poetry all together after 1966.

How have one poet and his single book of poetry from the last century continued to inspire people today? A Life That Sings follows the legendary poet Ya Hsien from Vancouver to Nanyan, to the mobile library from his childhood and to the basement of his current home. Through his collection of books and love letters, the film unearths the treasure trove abound with stories of Ya Hsien’s life.